An Englewood native, Danaya, attended St. Bernard Hospital’s 9th Community Baby Shower for the first time on Saturday, August 2, 2025. Although she’s expecting her second child, the event introduced her to information about breastfeeding and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) that she hadn’t learned before.
“Attending this event makes me want to do breastfeeding even more,” she shared. Like many other mothers, Danaya was initially skeptical. But, after hearing directly from nurses about the nutritional and psychological benefits, she feels more confident and open to the idea.
The annual baby shower was created to help address some of the challenges mothers in our community face such as limited resources for baby essentials and misinformation by providing education, support and items to expectant families who attend. For over 120 years, St. Bernard Hospital has served as a safety-net hospital in Chicago, providing quality care to people regardless of their ability to pay, while serving primarily low-income and vulnerable populations.
The mothers in our community will soon face difficult decisions as access to quality, affordable healthcare becomes more challenging. With the increased health care insecurity that threatens too many South and West Side families, St. Bernard Hospital’s baby shower eases the burden for mothers by offering essential items like diaper bags, strollers, car seats and vital information on breastfeeding, immunizations, postpartum depression and safe sleeping practices. Accurate information on motherhood is essential to help future mothers raise their children in safe and healthy homes.
St. Bernard Hospital remains committed to supporting expectant mothers by offering free, accurate and accessible health education. No cost events such as the Community Baby Shower remove barriers to important information and encourage families to attend, gaining knowledge directly from healthcare providers and professionals.
St. Bernard continues to recognize and respond to community needs and is proud to continue serving Englewood and surrounding communities with care, compassion and commitment.
